Jobless rate in Central Visayas up 6.3% in April

CEBU, Philippines - A central bank official urged local businessmen in Central Visayas to be aggressive in hiring people as more jobless were recorded in the region in April 2015.

According to the Philippine Statistics Authority (PSA), unemployment in Region 7 grew to 6.3% in April, rising from 5.9% recorded in the same month last year.

In contrast, underemployment -- which involves people with jobs but want more work or longer hours -- dropped by 17.2% in April from 19.3% in the same month last year. 

Commenting on the data in a recent interview, Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) Deputy Governor Diwa Guinigundo said local businesses must have an "aggressive stance" as far as hiring workers is concerned.

The official said he, however, believed employers would hire people depending on the degree of demand for their products and services.

He noted that some are also taking the "wait and see" attitude as the 2016 national poll is approaching.

He added that some businessmen would want to know who gets elected next year before expanding operations, and thus employing additional people.

"Employment opportunities would become weaker than expected if they have this wait and see attitude," the deputy governor said.

He though urged businessmen to be aggressive considering that the economy is growing and that consumer spending continues to grow.

"As long as you have a good supply of products and services, that should generate demand," he said.

Possible factors

Guinigundo cited that there are various factors that could have affected the rise in jobless rate in the region.

One is the impact of various calamities, he said, explaining that the impact could have disrupted the economic activities of the people.

Another factor is the so-called frictional unemployment which is the time period between jobs when a worker is searching or transitioning from one job to another. "This could be a reason why unemployment had gone up," he said.

Another is the slowdown in some sectors especially the exports industry.

According to Guinigundo, the global economy continues to be "soft", which could have resulted to slower demand and slowed down economic activity among local exporter.

Despite these factors, the central bank official believed the region could improve on its labor situation, saying that various industries are growing and are potential to employ more people. (FREEMAN)